From humble beginnings in 2010, the Yallingup Surf Film Festival is a cultural extravaganza founded by some of the coolest and chillest cats of Western Australia. Brought together through a mutual love of filmmaking, music and art in surf culture, the festival founders aimed to create a meeting place for the wider surf community and a forum for a niche in filmmaking and art that isn’t often publicised in the media.

Kicking off on Friday, the 20^th of January, the festival starts in the southwest with screenings of the chosen films under the stars at the pub and during the day at the local Samudra yoga centre and café.

Growing every year due to the public demand, it’ll be held in five locations, the YSF’12 program is diverse this year, with a focus on a variety of themes – some with great humour, others with raw honesty but all with surfing at their heart. With nine films chosen, music, art exhibitions and Q & A sessions with the film directors and surf legends, surf culture and film making forums, a tarp surfing demo, and a fancy dress surfing comp, YSF’12 is offering an experience that any surf enthusiast worth their salt.

If that isn’t enough for you, see the trailer here and be freaking blown away. 

If you need a ticket – get it here. There’s still some floating around, but there won’t be for much longer.

We all know the modern day joys of internet shopping and the fact that you dont have to leave your office chair (sorry boss) to grab all your latest gear online. The only issue we have is how many browser windows we have to have up at once to check who is going to stock it cheaper, with less freight and get it to us in the quickest possible way. #firstworldproblems

If only there was a way we could get around this last hurdle to extreme laziness savvy-ness on the world wide web shopping portal.

Well, look no further. Well no further than the next paragraph at least.

We introduce Radness.com.au. An Australian first, these Gold Coast based lads offer a unique price comparison website for high performance adrenalin sports gear. There’s none of your clichéd, generic, mainstream articles here – this is all the legit shit. You can find exactly what you want and compare it across the market – a tool that was previously lacking in the Australian market. The cats pajamas of industry gear – readily available all through your keyboard strokes.

With 10,000 products sourced from over 10 high power retailers – these guys are making their mark in a niche market – sourcing to those who previously had no source. Need a new deck? Need new fins? Need a new jaw cause its hit the ground so fast? Radness.com.au.

But wait, there’s more to flick your bean over. The lads hope that their site not only helps Aussie surfers, skaters and boogers get the most from their hard earned dollars in these tight times, but discouraging purchasing overseas to support local industries, companies, and shapers.

Sounds like a pretty dreamy lot to me. Get searching.

Radness.com.au

Though it’s only hitting our shores about three months into the new year, supporters of music and all round legends Happy Endings have recruited us at Vanguard to have the pleasure of being a part of the Black Lips fateful return to Oz, making certain that their national tour kicks off with a bang at their Coolongatta Hotel gig on the 1^st of March, 2012.

Hailing from hell raising, rock and rolling Atlanta in the U.S. of A., the Black Lips have pioneered in making balls out, spastic electric rhythms an increasingly delightful aesthetic for today’s average hipster gutter rat.

In my personal opinion, they’ve got the tenacity to be a modern, underground “Ramones” but lack the refined spunk of those golden olden rock bands – the psychedelic trip out of wasted tune-age sometimes making you feel like you’ve had twenty seven standard drinks.However, don’t get me wrong, this bunch of slimy haired, grunge kings have torn a new asshole in the music scene over the past years, particularly because of their controversial shows, (the crew fled India in fear of being arrested on homosexual acts – apparently a “bunch of wieners” came out) and increasingly chaotic stage performances (once again with the “wieners”) likened to a “bunch of blitzed teenagers spazzing out on borrowed instruments” and their attitudes as “lo-fi and garaged out” to the extreme.Not enough temptation for you? Get your shit together! The band’s instantly catchy pop and rock tunes will no doubt be fucking exciting as ever and a great start to your gig list for 2012.

Hopefully producer of their most recent album “Arabia Mountain” and regulation fucking indie god Mark Ronson comes along for the ride…So come on down to the Coolangatta Hotel on the 1st of March – buy your tix here. 

Stumbled across the wicked kids from “Circulate“; a film company that offers some incredible surf movies. Matt Kleiner – head honcho – proves that with flicks such as the Aus based “Way of the Ocean”, there’s no end to the beauty that is the surf, sand and sun. It’s a ocular orgasm and will have you pining for the days spent hanging out in the surf.

Make your Monday morning a little lighter with some of these rad clips to remind you that Summer is only just starting.

WAY OF THE OCEAN – Official Trailer 1 from Matt Kleiner on Vimeo.

THIS LEFT from Matt Kleiner on Vimeo.

Car? Check.

Dagwood dog? Check.

Leather? Check.

Teeth? Missing…check!

Our mates from THRILLS showed off the raceway standard. 

The Thrills Demolition Derby went off with a bang on Saturday night – metaphorically and literally, with the thirteen surf wear brands hustled up by the Thrills crew who were ripe ready and keen to obliterate each other. Though it was a slow start (tickets stopped due to the rain) everyone was still keen to get down and dirty in the mud.

Archerfield Speedway

The cars looked perfect – everyone really put in a consolidated effort to making their smash mobiles aesthetically tasty. The drivers were high-sugar, hyperactive and secretly nervous, hanging out in their jumpsuits and crash helmets. Once all was good to go and the all clear was given by ol’ mate derby runner “Toothless”, they lined up, growled their engines and commenced the epic destruction and fun that is the derby.

 So ready…

Wheels were spinning, mud was flying and the cars were on to each other like a rash. The vast, demented crowd was itching for it – and were satiated to the point of pure ecstasy.

Peace